“One of the decisions was what kind of ice cream I wanted, strawberry or vanilla,” says Christen, 11. “That is a hard decision for me. I really don’t know how God showed me the sign, but I picked strawberry.”

Christen, are you writing from Earth? This sounds like a decision from heaven. If all of life were filled with these kinds of decisions, we would all be happy . . . or look like 300-pound blimps.

“God lets the answer come to me, and I got something for it like an A+,” says Lauren, 7.

Some of my most fervent praying occurred before big tests in two graduate programs. Amazingly, I found that the answers to those prayers were closely associated with the amount of study I had done.

“God helps me make hard decisions by talking to me through prayer,” says Sarah, 11. “He talks to me through actions and consequences. He helps me through my parents, my friends and my teachers. He helps me every day in hard and easy decisions. I know I can go to him whenever I need help.”

Sarah shows us that God leads in a variety of ways. Sensitive Christians look for clues along life’s journey. God is always at work around us. We should pray that our eyes will be open to what he is doing.

Sarah says God talks to her in prayer. At one level of prayer, we speak to God. At another, God speaks to us. The Bible contains many examples of God’s audible voice breaking into conversations, but this is the exception rather than the rule. God usually speaks through a quiet mind informed by the Word of God filled with the Holy Spirit.

The deepest level of prayer is communion with God. Jesus always knew what to do and say because he stayed in constant conversation with his Father. Many times, he retired from the demands of ministry to pray in remote places.

Jesus said: “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30).

“When we do something, even if we know it won’t get us into any trouble, we should always ask God about it,” says Jessica, 10.

Do you talk to a friend only when you’re in trouble? God wants to be your friend. Toward the end of his ministry, Jesus told his disciples he would no longer call them servants, but friends. Friends have things in common. Friendship with God depends on our obedience to him (John 15:14-15).

“When you ask God for help, he helps you with your tough times, and he helps your conscience tell you what’s right or wrong,” says Taylor, 11. “God loves us, and he is willing to do anything for his children. He loves us so much that he sent his only Son to die on a cross to save us from our sins.”

Jesus made the hardest decision when he prayed in the garden: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36).

Think about this: The figurative cup Jesus drank contained our sins. He didn’t want this cup, but he drank it in submission to his Father so that we could live.